


How Gibbs Did It

by jane_x80



Series: Couples Therapy [12]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Anniversary, Established Relationship, Gratuitous Smut, M/M, Pre-Series, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:56:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6908155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/pseuds/jane_x80
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs has been seeing Tony for eighteen months and has a special gift for him, for their anniversary. Turns out, it is a timely gift. But there is some freaking out on Tony's part.</p><p>This takes place about six months before the start of Season 1.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Gibbs Did It

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a tiny line in Chapter 1 of [Long Day](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6669622). It stuck in my head and I had to write this first part down. Takes place maybe 6 months before Kate joins the MCRT, while Gibbs and Tony were a two-man team.

In the darkened room, the bed creaked loudly in an age old rhythm that was easily identified. The groaning of the bed was almost as loud as the moans of its vigorously active occupants.

“ _Fuck_!” Tony bit out, meeting Gibbs’ deep thrusts, Gibbs’ cock deep in his well-lubed ass, one leg over Gibbs’ shoulder and the other around his waist, trying to jerk himself even closer to his lover.

Gibbs snapped his hips in a corkscrew motion, rubbing Tony’s prostate just so and it was all the young man could do to contain his half-screams of pleasure. His entire world was focused on the blue-eyed man, pounding him into the mattress, while his hands grasped the bars of his headboard. Gibbs leaned down and kissed him hungrily, not stopping the motion of his hips, almost drowning in the feel of his dick being squeezed in Tony’s tight ass, and as always, the young man seemed to need more of him, need him to be even deeper inside him, needed even more closeness between them. It seemed to him that Tony wanted him to crawl right under his skin sometimes, his need was so great.

“Come on!” Tony urged him, meeting his thrusts, his fingers white knuckled on the headboard. “C’mon Jet. Make me come. Fucking make me come already. _God_. Please please _nnghhhh…_ ”

And Gibbs switched up yet again, slowing down, pulling almost all the way out and holding himself poised above the younger man, watching him closely.

“ _Fuck_!” Tony screamed, sounding both frustrated and agonized, trying to fuck himself onto Gibbs’ cock. “Please Jet. _Pleeeeease._ ”

“You need to be more patient, honey,” Gibbs panted, sweat dripping from his forehead onto Tony’s sweaty, writhing body.

“ _Fuck_ patience. _Fuck_ you. _Fuck me_ , Jet. Please…oh god. I’m so fucking close. You fucking _cocktease_! _Fuck_ me and make me fucking come, goddammit!” Tony’s green eyes flashed with a desperation that made Gibbs’ dick pulse and throb. Tony felt the movement and groaned trying hard to fuck himself onto Gibbs’ waiting cock.

“What a mouth you have,” Gibbs said mildly, hand on Tony’s hip, keeping him still.

“Shut up and _fuck_ me, you _fucking bastard_!!” Tony started to loosen his fingers from the headboard.

“Uh-uh-unhhhh!” Gibbs told him playfully. “You want me to win this bet?”

“ _Fuck_!!” Tony screamed again, re-tightening his hold on the bars. He panted harshly, trying to calm himself, trying not to think about the fact that all he wanted was to let go of the bars, yank Gibbs back into him or flip them over so he could ride him, and stroke himself into what was bound to be an explosive climax. This was all his own fault anyway. He had challenged Gibbs into making him come on his cock only, without his hands or his mouth on Tony’s dick. Gibbs had accepted the challenge with the condition that Tony would have to keep his hands on the headboard and off Gibbs, so as to not be able to touch him and drive him wild with his knowledge of the sweet spots on Gibbs’ body. No unfair advantage to be had there to force the issue by making Gibbs need to come and distracting him from the challenge. Hence the hands on the bars of the headboard.

And now Tony was dying to come – would have easily come a couple of times earlier without Gibbs touching his cock, but the older man had started teasing him, switching up the strokes just as he was about to explode, so much so Tony had abandoned begging in Italian and English and had been resorting to demanding to come. Demanding to be fucked. Demanding for release.

As Gibbs held himself above the young man, golden skin bared just for him, he smiled wickedly. He leaned down, deliberately brushing his belly against the young man’s desperately leaking cock, watching in lustful amusement as his fingers tightened even more around the bars. Arms stretched out over his head, green eyes dark with lust, chest heaving, entire body flushed with his arousal, cock rigid, jutting up demandingly, weeping continuously, he was the very picture of debauchery. And his mouth – by turns desperately begging and then demanding imperiously, and then insulting him with such foul language. And yet when he kissed it, that same mouth opened up sweetly to him, returning his kisses with an ardor and enthusiasm that made him weak in the knees even though they had been fucking each other for a year and a half.

Gibbs claimed that delicious mouth, feeling him open up to his tongue, welcoming it into his warm depths. Without warning, he slammed himself back into Tony, and the young man writhed as his cock was trapped between them, finally getting some bit of friction. Gibbs pumped into him, lips locked together, undulating his body such that his dick was stimulating the young man’s prostate and his chest and belly rubbing against the hard, weeping cock between their bodies. The bed creaked and groaned along with them.

He swallowed Tony’s agonized cries of pleasure. They had been at it for a while now, and he was close to orgasm. He had been close to coming almost as soon as he’d slid into Tony’s hungry body, but a bet was a bet, and no one could claim that Gibbs didn’t ever take a bet or a dare seriously. But finally, he decided he’d tortured the young man enough. Well, almost. He pulled away, breaking off the kiss, smiling as Tony lifted his head trying to follow him. He thrust himself deep into the young man and with iron control, held himself still.

“Shhh,” he said gently as Tony whimpered, eyes wide. “You like me filling you up?”

“Yes,” Tony whimpered again, wiggling his hips wantonly, squeezing his muscles, helplessly trying to get more, feel more. He used the leg around Gibbs to pull himself even closer, fuck himself even more onto the cock filling him up so deliciously. “Fuck, please, Jet. I can’t…need you to…please god uuuuunghhhhh please. Move, goddammit. Move. _Move_! I’m so fucking close….” His movements were desperate, his whimpers going straight to Gibbs’ cock.

Gibbs took a deep breath and gently kissed Tony’s nose and forehead. “Ready?” he asked huskily, his blue, blue eyes trained on Tony’s face.

Tony met Gibbs’ gaze, his own green eyes now intent and purposeful. “Ready,” he panted. “Please…”

Gibbs nodded, his lips quirking up into a slight grin. He slid his knees under Tony’s hips, pulling his ass practically into his lap, knowing that this would give him the deepest penetration and the young man groaned. The muscles of his arms, chest and belly flexing as he shuddered. Gibbs grabbed the young man’s hips to anchor himself.

“Here we go, then, honey. Hold on tight.”

Tony gulped in a breath and nodded wordlessly, the muscles of his ass contracting reflexively around Gibbs’ dick, as if trying to suck him in even deeper.

And then Gibbs started moving. He drove himself in and out of Tony in short, powerful thrusts, driving himself deep into the young man, pounding his prostate, but the angle made it so that Tony’s dick stood straight up, slapping up against his own belly without any friction whatsoever to relieve what he knew must be an unbearable need. He ached to stroke the velvety skin, but a bet was a bet. He was going to make Tony come without stimulating his cock with his hands or his mouth, or in fact anything at all. And he was going to torture the man as he did it.

Tony’s eyes were rolling into the back of his head, and the sounds that he made, god the sounds that he made – incoherent, desperate moans and groans deep in his chest. Wordless, almost inhuman sounds of ecstasy. Driving Gibbs to the brink of his own control.

Tony was getting louder and louder, and Gibbs realized that he himself was matching Tony, sound for desperate sound. And the fucking bed! Creaking and groaning ominously with his every thrust. But Tony was too far gone to notice. He was screaming with every thrust, monosyllabic words like “Yes” and “Fuck” and “Jet” and “God”, repeated over and over. And as Gibbs kept on drilling his prostate, this time unwilling to stop Tony’s pleasure, and unable to still his own hips, he kept thrusting into the willing and writhing body under him. Until finally, finally, with a deafening scream, Tony stiffened, his body bowing up almost painfully, as thick, creamy semen arced into the air from the tip of his engorged dick and he came, and continued to come, his cock spurting thick ribbons of come into the air, spattering both their bodies and their faces, and with a deep groan, Gibbs’ hips pistoned deep into the young man as he found his release, calling out Tony’s name as he shot his load deep into the young man, the warm wet heat against his prostate making Tony shudder and continue to come.

A dull roar, and the earth moved and shook violently. Earthquake? Or at least that’s what it seemed like to Gibbs. One hell of an orgasm, he thought in his post-orgasmic haze before his eyes closed.

They both lost time.

When Gibbs came back to himself, he was collapsed in a boneless heap on top of an unmoving Tony. He pulled away from the young man, unable to stifle a moan as they were now stuck to each other with half-dried semen – both on the outside where their chests had been practically glued together and on the inside where his dick was still in Tony’s cum-filled ass. He laid down next to him, pulling the unresisting body on top of him. He stroked and caressed Tony’s honey-gold skin, unable to stop himself from touching the younger man. Looking down on them, he realized how come-covered they both were and chuckled, deep in his throat at the thought that he had made this beautiful young man come so hard and so much as to pass out with the force of his climax.

He thought about the man in his arms. They had been seeing each other almost since they met, and the fact that they worked together, in fact one was the other’s boss, had no bearing on their relationship outside of work. Gibbs had claimed Tony as his, almost from the beginning, and the young man had not resisted. And their extra-curricular activities had had no effect on their workplace behavior, and perhaps had even strengthened their bond and understanding such that now, in their second year of working together, the level of non-verbal communication between them at work had started to become the stuff of legends.

Gibbs smiled and kissed a sweaty temple, and ran his fingers through the silky brown hair. Finally, Tony began to stir, stretching until his spine cracked and rubbing his entire body sensuously against Gibbs’.

“Mmmm,” Tony hummed happily.

“Back with me, honey?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I won.”

Tony hummed again, too sated to care. Besides, even though Gibbs had technically won the challenge, Tony had won too, given how intense their lovemaking had been, and the strength of his release.

“I thought DiNozzos don’t pass out?” Gibbs teased him gently.

Tony hummed another happy response, not even bothering to try to object that he hadn’t passed out. He was way too sated to do that.

Gibbs leaned down and gently kissed his lips, and obediently, Tony angled his head and opened his mouth, allowing Gibbs to deepen the kiss which he returned lazily, smiling the entire time, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Shit, honey, are you even awake?”

Tony hummed again and put his arm around Gibbs’ neck. “Shut up and kiss me again, you bastard,” he said, his voice hoarse with overuse.

They kissed again, sweet and deep. When they parted, Tony sighed and burrowed his face into Gibbs’ chest. “Can we just go to sleep now?” he asked, yawning. “I can’t get up and I don’t want you to, either.”

“Sure, honey,” Gibbs yawned back in response, his limbs and eyelids heavy after the workout and the earth-shaking orgasm he’d just had.

“Good night,” Tony whispered.

“G’night, honey,” Gibbs whispered back, giving his temple one last kiss before he put his head down and let sleep claim him.

In the morning, he was the first person awake, as usual. But his internal clock told him that it was late. He smiled as he felt Tony curl himself tighter around him, one leg thrown over both of his, one arm around his waist, his head pillowed on his chest, pinning him down. He loved how Tony used him like a body pillow when they slept together. He loved that Tony had finally allowed himself to stay the whole night. For the first six months of their sexual entanglement…ah, who was he kidding? He and Tony were in a relationship. There was no other word for it. But, for the first six months of their relationship, Tony used to remove himself from their shared bed halfway through the night. If they were at Gibbs’ house, then Tony would move to the guest room to sleep the rest of the night, or even drive back to his apartment if he felt up to it. If they were at his apartment, the young man would adjourn to his living room, put a movie on, and curl up on the sofa for the next half of the night. But now Tony spent the whole night not only in bed with Gibbs, but curled possessively around the man, refusing to let him up, protesting in his sleep when Gibbs had to disentangle himself from him to go pee in the middle of the night.

Gibbs understood it. Before him, Tony had never slept with anyone, not through the whole night, night after night. Not even with his ex-fiance Wendy. They hadn’t even moved in together when he’d proposed to her, and things had fallen apart for them soon after that. Not that he and Tony had moved in together. But although they didn’t spend every night together, he knew that they were now exclusively seeing each other. Tony had stopped dating other people, barely even going out anymore – other than clubbing with Abby and drinks with Pacci and some of the other guys from the office – and even though they hadn’t really talked about it or come right out to say the words, he knew that they were now exclusive.

He smiled, reveling in the knowledge that this beautiful young man was his and his alone. Six months ago they had stopped using condoms with each other, and the sex had only got that much better. All of a sudden, Gibbs was filled with the overwhelming urge to confess everything, but he kept his mouth shut, trapping his words, allowing the words to reverberate in his head, as his hands absently caressed Tony’s body.

“You’re giving me a headache with all that deep thought,” Tony’s hoarse voice made him jump.

Gibbs looked down and saw that Tony’s green eyes were open in narrow slits and he blinked up at him sleepily. The young man yawned and his eyelids fluttered, eyelashes long and lush. Gibbs had to contain the feelings that welled up inside him, and tamp it down with difficulty. He smiled to see the pink tongue peeking out between Tony’s soft, shapely lips.

“Mornin’ Tube Socks,” he said, smiling as Tony’s eyes fluttered open.

“Mornin’ Navy Guy,” Tony responded back hoarsely, and he tried repeatedly to clear his throat.

“Something wrong?” Gibbs asked, concern coloring his voice.

Tony coughed a little and grinned sheepishly at him. “I think you broke my voice last night,” he said, his voice still hoarse and scratchy.

“You were the one screamin’ and yellin’.”

“Mmm,” Tony hummed agreeably. “You weren’t complaining.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Gibbs said smugly.

Tony looked at his side table to see his clock. Or at least tried to. The clock was nowhere to be seen, and he could only see the legs of his bedside table.

“Shit!” he sat up suddenly. “Jet! We broke the fucking bed!”

Gibbs slowly sat up and started laughing. The mattress and the box spring were now flat on the floor and the headboard leaned precariously against the wall. “I thought the earth moved when I came last night,” he said thoughtfully. “Turns out we just broke the bed. I _told_ you you needed a new bed. This one was no match for two grown men fucking the life out of each other as often as we do.”

“Aw fuck!” Tony swore, frowning. “Good thing we’re not on call this weekend. You can help me choose a new bed.”

“You better spend the weekend at the house,” Gibbs grinned and pulled the young man in for a kiss, which escalated, leading to a short, hot bout of wake up sex, and for the first time, Tony’s bed wasn’t a third creaky voice in their activities. When they had come again, Tony managing to come twice that morning, Gibbs dragged them both into the shower to clean off.

Tony started laughing when he saw dried come in Gibbs’ hair. “Fuck, Jet. You have come on your face and in your hair.”

“It’s your come. And, you do too, honey. Let’s get clean, then you can make me breakfast.”

They had a lazy Saturday morning, kissing and stroking each other in the shower, and then Tony made pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Promising to meet at Gibbs’ in the afternoon, the older man left and Tony took the rest of his bedframe apart and took it down to the dumpster. He stripped the bed and washed his sheets. He got a good run in, and showered again. He cleaned his apartment, until everything was sparkling and in exactly the right order. Then he packed his go bag – as Gibbs said, he would be spending the weekend at Gibbs’ since his bed was down for the count – and drove there, stopping at the grocery store and liquor store for supplies.

He dropped his go bag in Gibbs’ bedroom and when he came downstairs, Gibbs was helping to put away the groceries.

“Honey,” Gibbs said softly when all the groceries were put away.

“Yeah?”

“You realize what day it is?”

“Saturday?” Tony scrunched up his face. “We’re not on call. We don’t have a case, right?”

“No case. We’re not on call. We’re off this weekend.”

“Ummm, then no. I don’t realize what _day_ it is,” Tony placed emphasis on the word. “Why? What day is it? Other than Saturday?”

“Eighteen months.”

“Huh?”

Gibbs gestured between them. “Eighteen months. Of this. Of us.”

Tony’s brow creased for a moment before he smiled, the wide, emotion-filled smile (Gibbs liked to think it was love that Tony was expressing) that was Gibbs’ favorite smile. “I’ll be damned.”

“Broke the bed on our sort of anniversary.”

Tony started to laugh. “Shit. That’s funny. Hey, you gonna go bed shopping with me today? You really should. You’ll want an opinion given that you’ll be spending a bunch of time in it with me.” Tony looked thoughtful. “You think they’ll object to us simulating fucking on the bed in the store to see if it’s sturdy enough for us?”

Gibbs’ bark of laughter made Tony laugh too. “I wanted to show you something first. Thing I was making? It’s ready. Come down to the basement,” Gibbs said cryptically after they’d calmed down.

“Am I allowed down there now?”

Gibbs rolled his eyes. He knew that in the past few months, he had been sneaking out of bed to work in the basement and covering everything with a tarp when Tony was down there, working on his boat instead. He’d asked Tony to respect his privacy and that he would show Tony what he was making when it was ready. And Tony, his irrepressibly inquisitive Tony had let him, even if he had teased him about it and tried to get hints, Gibbs knew that the young man hadn’t peeked without his permission. “You comin’ or not?” he stood at the doorway to the basement steps.

“I’m coming,” Tony ran over, grinning widely. “I can’t believe it’s ready! What is it? Why do you want to show it to me now? What’d ya make?”

“Come on down. See for yourself.”

Gibbs took Tony’s hand and led him down the stairs, and in the light of the bare lightbulb, the boat frame was off to the side. In the middle of the basement floor, leaning against a wall, was something covered with a tarp.

“Ready?” Gibbs asked the young man.

Tony was vibrating with excitement. “Ready! What’d you make? A rowboat? A dinghy? A sled? A book shelf? A spanking bench?”

“A _spanking bench_?” Gibbs looked at him curiously.

“OK. I got a little excited there. Nobody needs a spanking bench. You can just make me lean over the sofa for that. So? What is it? What’d you make? Show me. Show me.” He was as excited as a little boy.

“It’s for you. Pull the tarp off.”

“For me?” Tony stared at him, wide eyed, suddenly frozen to the spot.

“Go on now. Pull the fucking tarp off, honey.”

“Now I really hope it’s not a spanking bench,” Tony’s answering smile was huge. He pulled the tarp off with a flourish and then stood, gaping at it. “Uh. Jet. Is this what I think this is?”

“Dunno. What do you think it is?”

Tony walked around it, touching it with trembling fingers. Even disassembled, he could tell what it was. He saw the intricately carved headboard, fingered the carvings, and touched every piece of it before he looked up at Gibbs, eyes filling with tears. “Is it a bed?” he asked hoarsely.

Gibbs nodded, trying not to tear up at Tony’s obvious surprise and incomprehension.

“For me?” Tony asked again, disbelievingly.

“Yup,” Gibbs said. “No amount of rough sex will break this bed, honey.”

“You didn’t sabotage my bed on purpose, did you?” Tony tried to use humor to deflect, but Gibbs could tell he was overcome with emotion. “Why’d you make me a bed, Jet?” Tony blindly reached a hand out to Gibbs.

“Been telling you you needed a new bed since our first night at your apartment,” Gibbs said, taking the hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of the young man’s hand. “So I made you one.”

Tony gulped in a few deep breaths, turning back to the bed, stroking the smooth, polished wood with his long fingers. He petted the bed as if it were a living thing. “Nobody’s ever…” he broke off, his chest heaving as he tried to contain his emotions. “Nobody’s ever made me anything…” his voice, filled with wonder. And he looked at Gibbs again, green eyes looking huge as it brimmed with tears. “Fuck, Jet. Nobody’s _ever_ made me anything before. Not even out of papier mache. Not even my mom. Fuck. Jet…What? Why?”

“Happy anniversary, honey,” Gibbs put his arms around the young man and kissed his cheek gently. “Happy eighteen month anniversary.”

“For me?” Tony looked surprised, and puzzled.

“It’s for you, honey.”

To his surprise, Tony hid his face in Gibbs’ chest and he burst into tears. The young man had teared up, maybe spilled a couple of tears when Gibbs had been unexpectedly tender with him, but never openly wept in Gibbs’ arms before. Gibbs held him tight, rocking him, whispering reassuring words, words of comfort. Finally, he released the young man when he felt Tony pull away. Tony’d stopped crying and gave him a wan and embarrassed smile.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t know what to say. It’s so beautiful. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I love it. Thank you.”

Unable to stop himself, Gibbs put his hands on Tony’s tear-stained face and said the words that he’d been containing and trying not to say for weeks, knowing that it would scare the man. “You’re so beautiful, honey. I love you.”

A long moment of silence as Tony’s eyes widened and he stared at him, mouth open, shock in his eyes. “Uh…wh-what?”

“I love you, honey,” Gibbs repeated. “Love you so much.”

Tony’s breaths came in short pants and he stared wordlessly at Gibbs. The older man stifled the inner sigh. Too soon, he thought. Too much. Too soon. He should have kept the words to himself. Tony wasn’t ready to handle it yet. The bed had been almost too much for him. Coupled with the words, Tony’s head was about to explode. He stifled that dangerous anger in him, aimed at Tony’s good-for-nothing piece of shit of a father. The damage that that man had done to his beautiful boyfriend. That kindness made him cry. That he never felt that he deserved love. That he had to do something to deserve it. That he was always putting himself down, putting himself second to everyone.

The young man’s frightened eyes went from Gibbs’ face to his beautiful new bed, to the boat frame in the corner, and back to Gibbs, over and over again. Before Gibbs knew what was happening, Tony slipped out of his arms, scrambled up the stairs and fled.

“Tony!” Gibbs called after him. “ _Honey_! Come back! I’m sorry!”

Nothing.

Gibbs heard his front door slam shut and then silence.

He snorted quietly. “Well. That went well,” he said wryly to himself, stroking the bedframe gently.

After a couple of hours, he called Tony’s cell and left an awkward message, to call him back. He resisted the urge to ask if he was OK in the voicemail. Tony probably couldn’t take much more acts of concern, kindness and love from him today. He didn’t hear from Tony all afternoon and all evening. And he knew he needed to give the young man some time and some space. So he didn’t go looking for him despite worrying about the man. He paced up and down his basement like a caged animal, trying desperately not to look at his watch.

Finally, at closing time, he received a call from Haskell’s – a local cop bar that they hung out at sometimes – to retrieve his partner. Sighing, he grabbed his keys and drove to the bar. He poured Tony into the passenger seat of his truck, drove them home, and dragged him up to their bedroom. He made Tony pee, brush his teeth, and drink a huge glass of water with some aspirin, stripped him, and tucked him into bed before he undressed, got ready for bed, and slipped in, spooning the young man.

“Love you, honey,” Gibbs told him softly when he was sure that Tony had passed out.

In the morning, when Tony groaned awake, holding his head, Gibbs handed him another glass of water and more aspirin, which the younger man downed without protest.

“Mornin’,” Gibbs said softly.

Tony grunted.

“Breakfast, my love?”

Tony blanched, and Gibbs held out the trash can, while the young man threw up noisily. When Tony was done, he laid back on the bed, arms over his face, groaning softly.

“I think I have the fixings for the DiNozzo Defibrillator,” Gibbs said, keeping his voice low.

Tony nodded.

“I’ll be downstairs.”

Again Tony nodded.

“I do, you know.”

Tony pried his gummy eyes open. “What?” he asked hoarsely.

“I do love you. A lot.”

The young man’s eyes widened, and he pulled the trash can over, throwing up into it again.

Gibbs started chuckling. “I’m going to keep saying it until you stop running away or throwing up when I do.”

Tony looked up at him, looking tortured. “What? Why?”

“Because I love you, you stupid son of a bitch.” Gibbs smiled lovingly at him.

Tony retched into the trash can again, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Strangely enough, this only makes me love you more.”

With a groan, Tony heaved the rest of the contents of his stomach into the trash can, until he was only throwing up bile.

Gibbs shook his head, chuckling softly. He petted Tony’s head, rubbing the younger man’s scalp soothingly. “It’ll be OK, honey.”

Tony shrugged, groaning.

“You want to know why?”

Tony nodded.

“Because I love you.”

Dry heaves, before Tony laid his head on the bed. Exhausted. Head pounding.

“I’ll go make you the DiNozzo Defibrillator. You hit the shower. Then maybe we hit that burrito place that you like when you’re hungover. Then we can go put your new bed together, and go mattress shopping. I made you a king bed. Your queen mattress and box spring we can put in storage or in my attic if you like. Sound ok?”

Tony nodded miserably.

“If you’re good, we can test out the mattresses in the store by simulating sex.”

Tony nodded again, a little more enthusiastically this time.

Gibbs leaned down and kissed his sweaty brow. “Love you, honey.” Now that he’d said it, he couldn’t help but say it over and over. The words had been trapped in his head for months. He’d wanted to say them, declare his feelings for his prickly boyfriend for months. But he’d held his tongue and swallowed his words, showing him his feelings physically instead – more handholding, hand on the small of his back or on the back of his neck, arm around his shoulders, kisses on his cheek and his temple, unexplained hugs. Tony hadn’t been ready to hear the words – still wasn’t, but the cat was out of the bag now. And now that he’d said the words, he wanted to keep saying the words and showing his young man how much he was loved. And maybe one day, one day Tony would say the words back to him.

Or maybe the world would end first, Gibbs thought wryly. He knew how Tony was. He wasn’t expecting Tony to say it back to him. Ever. Tony was who he was, and love was something that terrified him. Gibbs made a mental bet with himself: Ten bucks said that Tony would never say the words, even if he felt the emotion. Another side of Gibbs offered up another ten bucks if Tony would say the words in five years. He grinned to himself, watching Tony closely, wondering if he’d make money off of himself.

Tony grunted. But he didn’t throw up again or attempt to run away. His stomach was empty and he was in no condition to get off the bed, let alone run off somewhere. The hard knot that had appeared in his belly when Gibbs had first said the words to him the day before had started to dissipate, replaced by an unfamiliar warmth. Maybe he’d thrown the knot up along with everything else, he thought. But the warmth in the pit of his belly was soothing and comforting. He wasn’t sure what it meant, and he was too exhausted to think too hard about it. But maybe, maybe he didn’t mind the words too much now.

“See? Told you you’d get used to it.” Gibbs said smugly. “Love ya, honey,” he told him one last time before he left the room.

**Author's Note:**

> In Chapter One of [Long Day](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6669622), in the DoC bus, Gibbs was reluctant to say "I love you" to Tony in a prison bus with Tony all shackled up, but Tony said it, no hesitation. And Gibbs had had to wait a long time for him to "choke out the words". [jesco0307](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307/pseuds/jesco0307) mentioned it in a comment as well, and the line stuck in my head. I was trying to write Tony saying the words but instead this story came out. I will have to keep thinking about how Tony finally says the words to Gibbs. I think that will be a fun story to write (although I'm not sure when that will happen).
> 
> In the meantime I hope you enjoyed this early slice of Tony and Gibbs in this 'verse. The music I listened to to write this included:  
> * [Why Don't We Do It In The Road](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVhVilUA-cw) (The Beatles)  
> * [I Love You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXnbVBEGaUA) (Barenaked Ladies)  
> * [I Love You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhAcDzH_HGo) (Sarah McLachlan)
> 
> Thank you! Until the next story :)  
> -j  
> xo


End file.
